‘Tis the season for holiday parties, shopping, family time and more. I am a fanatic when it comes to celebrating the holidays and Christmas is my favourite! I love Christmas more than my birthday. That said, as much as I love the holiday season, it can feel extremely busy during this time of year. Between all the parties, events and commitments, I find that I rarely have time for myself before the new year. I even tried to plan a last minute holiday party a few years ago.
I’m very much an ambivert. I love socialising and parties, but I need my time to just recharge and be by myself. Hence, this year, I decided to find ways during the holiday season to take some time for myself. I find that it’s important to balance rest and fun. Plus, it’s one of the most wonderful times of the year and we deserve to slow down and enjoy it too.
Here are my tips on relaxing and staying organized during the holidays:
Find what you love about the holidays and make that a priority
During the holiday season, we can get caught up in all the things we have to do.
More parties, more gift exchanges, more baking!
The holidays shouldn’t just be about all the things we do for others during the holidays; we should also remember why the holidays make us smile.
For me, the thing I love the most is reconnecting and spending time with my family and closest friends. I mean, we just came back from a family trip to New York. I love writing gift lists and personalizing each gift. I love wrapping the gifts by the fireplace, while listening to Christmas music and watching cheesy Christmas music. It’s corny I know, but I love it so much.
Because I know the activities that will fill my heart up, I’ve made sure to set aside time for it and place it as priority. And yes, that also means priority over blogger events and holiday parties.
Be okay with saying NO
Instead of forcing yourself to attend every holiday party or event, pick and choose the ones that are most important to you. Oh, and use the golden word : NO.
During the holiday season, we spend so much time pleasing others with gifts, cards, cookies, and showing up to parties that we forget to give ourselves a break. It can be a lot if you’ve committed to 4 events in one week.
Take time to think about which ones work best for you and which ones you’d want to invest your energy into. You can’t be in multiple places at once, and there’s always next year.
Put down the phone and be in the moment
This is funny coming from me, because my cellphone is basically my third arm. But I’m learning slowly to disconnect in order to connect.
I find that when I’m at events or parties, if I can, I like to save the videos and photos I take and then share them on social media after the event. That way, I’m able to be present in the moment, and connect with people without constantly being on my phone.
It’s a simple tip but helps SO much. Hence why you’ve probably noticed that my stories on Instagram go up way after an event that I attend.
Don’t be afraid to spend time alone
During the holiday season, it feels like we always have to be with friends or family to have a good time. But that’s not necessarily true. You can totally spend time with yourself. I find that because I work full time, the holidays carry an additional meaning to them as well. I get to just sit, chill out and do nothing- and be completely OK with it.
Take the time to light a Christmas candle, get a hot bath running, play some holiday music and just relax. Oh my god Sam, Read a Book! (haven’t had time to do that in ages).
Whatever it is, find a way to reconnect with yourself before the new year. You can still feel the holiday spirit without having to go out every day of the week!
Keep your regular routine going
I like to keep my regular routine going during the holiday season so I can see where I’m overscheduling myself. It also prevents me from getting too stressed with my schedule constantly changing.
If you have regular workouts, classes and days that you spend shopping, try to stick to it. Routine can help keep you a little more stress-free if you know what is going to happen during your day. Plus, staying active really helps me de-stress during the holidays. AND burns off all the food so I can justify having more food.
Anyway friends, I hope these tips help you relax and stay organized this holiday season! Don’t forget to take care of yourself because nobody likes falling sick in December aaaannnddd, lots of love to you!
PS: My whole outfit is from MUJI Canada
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Happy Holidays everyone and Merry Christmas!
Until next time,
xoxo Sam
